Blog Posts by The_Stir

What you are about to read is totally REAL and creepier than a Hollywood horror movie. Welcome to Scary Story Week on The Stir ...

From the time my daughter was little, she has had a very clear sense of things. "It's going to rain today, Momma," she says on a sunny, blue-sky day. Hours later, clouds roll in and it downpours. But predicting the weather is just one part of my daughter's apparent sixth sense.

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At nearly 5, my daughter has had more incidents of psychic abilities than we can brush off. There was the time before I left for Israel. "Say hi to all the gnomes," she said. "They will keep you safe." I laughed, but once there, everywhere I looked I saw gnomes. There was also the day my grandmother died last October when out of the blue she asked to see the music box Nana had given her.

Then she broke it. "You need to call her," she said. "You need to call her now." A few hours later, the call came

woman putting on braIf you're one of those people who are always and forever in the mood for sex, then well done, you! But other women -- whether it's because they're tired, stressed, or just not into it -- need a bit of inspiration to get the juices flowing. We came up with 40 sexy ways that will put you in the mood for getting it on. There's no way you can make it though the whole list and not have sex on the brain.

1. Wear a super sexy bra and panties under your clothes during the day. By the time you get home you'll be all set for fun.

2. Take a hot bath. Then slip on a silky robe.

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3. Slick on minty lip gloss. Anything on your lips will make you feel sexy, and you'll have fresh breath, too.

4. Shave your legs.

5. While you're at it, get a Brazilian bikini wax. Everything is more sensitive without all that hair in the way.

6. Take a 30-minute nap -- completely naked. You'll wake up

Diane Keaton was with Woody Allen for a decade in the 1970s, and while most of us have assumed it was because of his great humor -- after all, dude is most certainly not a looker -- we were wrong. Keaton reveals in a new memoir called Then Again that she was drawn to his body.

Yes, this proves beyond a doubt that there is someone for everyone. Keaton wrote of Allen: "He was even better-looking in real life. He had a great body, and he was physically very graceful."

Yes, that is Woody Allen we are talking about. And it goes to a theory I have. There are so many couples in which the woman is much better looking than the man and sometimes even the opposite -- when the man is much better looking than the woman. It has always been puzzling: Do they know the other isn't attractive? Or do they not care?

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Now it seems that maybe the answer is something different altogether. Maybe they don't think that person

I was tootling around the Internet this morning when I came across a craft blog post containing a truly original and marvelous makeup storage idea.

It comes from mom and craft blogger Laura, of Laura Thoughts, who, like most of us, had a disorganized mishmash of cosmetics.

The poor thing couldn't even see what she had!

Sound familiar?

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Then she came up with the idea of organizing her makeup on a hanging magnet board.

Here's the finished result.

I think it's BRILLIANT.

The short version of the story is that Laura bought a picture frame from the Salvation Army, painted it, had a piece of metal cut to fit inside it at the hardware store, covered that with fabric, and then hot glued magnets to the backs of all of her makeup. Those cups holding her makeup brushes each have three magnets apiece going up the back.

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For those of you who think your sexuality is fixed and stationary and never changes, you are missing a whole rainbow of colors. In fact, 60 percent of women are bi-curious and have fooled around in some way with another woman. And I'm not a bit surprised. Sexuality is never simply black and white.

The fact is, women, especially as they age, are going to be attracted to women. We are encouraged to have close, emotional friendships, and often as that desire to be closer grows, so too do the Sapphic ones.

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When we are younger, we may be more reserved about our sexuality, less willing to experiment (or more willing to just be silly and daring, but not sincere). Once we have been around the block, we are more comfortable with ourselves and our sexuality and we will experiment more.

Sexuality has never been one or the other, as much as many (especially men) would like to believe it is. Sure, there are

McRThe McRib is baaaack, and not just here and there randomly. Rather, McDonald's is announcing today that all store locations in the U.S. will be selling the sacred sandwich between now and November 14. And let the frenzy begin ...

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People freak out over this sandwich like none other. I'm personally not a fan, but I do respect the devotion people have to it. From Facebook pages like "Bring Back the McRib!!!" to an actual website to help you locate one (the McRib Locator), the limited availability of this sandwich seems to feed the hunger of people.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, which is apparently true for appetites as well ... and that's starting to scare me.

I mean, what if other restaurants see how well it's working there and get the same damn McIdea? Starbucks does it with the pumpkin spice latte and other fall-only drinks, and some beer brands do it, but what if the movement

Every year around this time -- as we rush around readying costumes, taping up hand-drawn ghosts and bats, and discussing whether the family jack-o'-lantern should look silly or scary -- a batch of irritating stories inevitably appears in the press. In them, misguided, if well meaning, authors suggest acceptable "alternatives to Halloween candy" or assert that "non-edible Halloween treats work, too."

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I am here to stand up for dentally challenged, hyperactive children everywhere to say, unequivocally, that when it comes to trick-or-treating, there is no acceptable alternative to candy, and non-edible Halloween treats work only if you want to forever be labeled a killjoy by the kids in your neighborhood.

Geez, people, just break down and -- for one special, super-sweet day of the year -- give these kids what they want: candy, candy, and more candy.

And no, pencils and erasers and plastic spider rings are not the

The New York Times reports that in Manhattan, school drop-off is becoming something of a fashion show. Outside the Little Red Schoolhouse in the West Village, for example, this was the scene at 8:30 a.m.:

"The crowd surrounding the Sixth Avenue entrance ... was thick with Rag & Bone jackets, Goyard bags, impractical footwear, and even the ultimate fashion-insider comfort item: a sky-blue J'aime Rodarte sweatshirt. The sartorial M.O., as characterized by another Little Red Schoolhouse parent, Sophie Knight, is 'casual, but in a calculated way.' Even the most ripped-up pair of jeans, Ms. Knight said, might have set their owner back $400."

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Meanwhile at the more conservative private schools between Lexington and Central Park, attire is a bit more buttoned-up, featuring Celine totes and Carolina Herrera jackets.

Want to know what people are wearing at my car rider drop-off line here in Nashville?